Classic '80s TV comedy on stage
Theatre
Listen very carefully I shall write this only once! Go see Noarlunga Theatre Company’s version of ‘Allo ‘Allo – it’s hilarious.
How much the audience enjoys the stage revival of the sitcom is practically dependent upon how funny it found the original TV Show.
After all, the play is a classic British farce with lots of hysterics and plenty of innuendo and double-entendre thrown in for good measure. If that’s the kind of comedy that appeals then this production is bound to please.
The staging is simple but effective. The affable players all ensure that the pace never flags which is very much demanded from the whirlwind script.
Myles Leon’s direction is controlled but gives enough space for willing performers to deliver cheerful slapstick, plenty of laughs and a large amount of exuberance.
Rene Artois (James Barbary) owns a café in Nazi-occupied France. The cowardly restaurateur is caught at the centre of a web of intrigue involving the stolen painting, the ‘Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies’ – which is hidden in a Knockwurst in his kitchen – and the concealment of two British airmen.
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In addition, he has to keep his affairs with his waitresses Yvette (Lorelle Pfeiffer) and Mimi (Kirsty Battersby) secret from his wife Edith (Linda Lawson).
Much to his distress, Rene is thrust into the vanguard of the French Resistance by its leader Michelle Dubois (Deirde Quinn), while simultaneously attempting to appease the Germans and notably Colonel Von Strohm (Paul Trueack) and Herr Flick of the Gestapo (Mitchell Lowe).
What follows is a light-hearted farce that involves an elaborate plan to impersonate Hitler. However, proceedings take many wrong turns with a finale of many people disguised as the Fuhrer.
The result is a genial comedy that’s engaging, amusing and appealing.
The Noarlunga Theatre Company is presenting ‘Allo ‘Allo The Arts Centre Port Noarlunga until November 29.
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